Race Weekend Central

4 Burning Questions: Will Chase Elliott Grab a Third-Straight Top 5 in Richmond?

2016 Martinsville I Cup Chase Elliott John Harrelson Nkp

Will Chase Elliott Grab a Third Straight Top 5 in Richmond? Following back-to-back top 5s for Chase Elliott this season, the Sprint Cup Series rookie will look for a third this weekend at Richmond. Will he do it? One thing he has going for him – unlike most tracks on the circuit – is past …

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Simon Pagenaud Withstands Review, Scott Dixon to Score Long Beach Win

Simon Pagenaud Long Beach Victory

(Photo: IndyCar)

Looking to get the winless monkey off of his back, Simon Pagenaud surged to a late lead to claim the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. However, in typical Verizon IndyCar Series style, the win came amid controversy. Pagenaud inherited the lead after his final pit stop and withstood a furious charge from Scott Dixon to …

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Preview: IndyCar Series Returns to Famed Long Beach Circuit

Long Beach Indycar Richard Dowdy

(Photo: Richard Dowdy / IndyCar)

When it comes to history and tradition, few street circuits in America can compete with Long Beach, California. It was on the streets of Long Beach in 1975 that a man named Chris Pook staged a Formula 5000 race, the first major street race in North America. It was on those same streets in 1976 …

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Tequila Patron ESM Wins Sebring Thanks to Derani’s Charge

Saturday’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway seemingly had everything.  It had close racing, some incidents, and bad weather.  A severe thunderstorm ripped through Sebring in the third hour, resulting in a red flag that lasted for over two hours. Once the race resumed, the mad dash did as well.  Into the …

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The Frontstretch 5: Championship Performances From 2015

Scott Dixon at Sonoma celebrating his win and championship (credit: INDYCAR)

(Photo credit: INDYCAR Media)

NASCAR will crown its season champions this weekend in Homestead, but several other series have already seen their title battles draw to a close. Here’s a look back at the IndyCar and NHRA titlists for 2015. From the stunning finish to the IndyCar season to the NHRA finals in Pomona, there were surprises and fantastic …

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Happiness Is… Throwbacks, Jeff Gordon and Scott Dixon

Fans in the stands for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway

(Photo Credit: Yvonne Leonard, Frontstretch)

It’s Darlington time this weekend and the race is once again situated on its traditional Labor Day weekend slot. It seems that someone over there at NASCAR HQ finally made some kind of decent decision. Of course, the track had taken a difficult situation and made it its own before this most recent shift in the …

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Open-Wheel Wednesday: Juan Pablo Montoya’s Sour Grapes

Indycar 2015 St. Pete Juan Pablo Montoya Trophy And Car Credit Chris Jones

(Photo: Chris Jones)

As the laps clicked off on the IndyCar season finale from Sonoma last Sunday, I watched, wondering if anyone had a shot at using the double points available to upset Juan Pablo Montoya, who had led the standings all year. In the beginning, it looked like he would cruise to the championship by holding steady inside …

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Open-Wheel Wednesday: The “Surprise” Champion, Stellar Seasons and More

Scott Dixon celebrates his race win and championship title at Sonoma

(Photo credit: INDYCAR)

Huston Ladner: So where does anyone want to begin? Matt Stallknecht: Man… where to even start. Toni Montgomery: Am I the only one who made the mistake of pretty much forgetting all about Scott Dixon? Matt: I completely forgot about him. Toni: And then wondering where the hell he came from. Huston: I doubt it. Matt: I figured …

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IndyCar Breakdown: 2015 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

Crowd shot at Sonoma Raceway for the IndyCar finale in 2015 (credit: IndyCar)

(Photo Credit: IndyCar)

In a Nutshell: Scott Dixon earned his fourth IndyCar championship owing to his win at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday.  He started the race in ninth and though he should not have been counted out of the championship, still sat in third in the points standings. The caution for Luca Filippi on lap 32 may have …

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Scott Dixon Wins 4th IndyCar Championship

Scott Dixon at Sonoma celebrating his win and championship (credit: INDYCAR)

(Photo credit: INDYCAR Media)

Starting a lowly ninth on the grid, Scott Dixon and his team made the right calls to put him out in front and from there, Dixon cruised to his third win of the season. That third win would be the tie-breaker between he and Juan Pablo Montoya in claiming the championship. Once Dixon got out …

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Pace Laps: Missing Expectations, Flying Fists, and Surprise Contenders

2015 Watkins Glen Cup Jeff Gordon Car Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Sprint Cup Series: Oh, What Might Have Been… Watkins Glen is sold every year as the last regular season “wild card” race, the last place an underdog can work his way into the Chase under the right circumstances. There were high hopes entering the weekend for defending winner AJ Allmendinger, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and …

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Open-Wheel Wednesday: Sage Karam’s Spin Brings Drama

2015 Indycar Sage Karam Head Shot With Helmet

Photo Credit: IndyCar

One might not have expected the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio to be a race filled with drama. In fact, after the grid had been set by qualifying, it would not have been outlandish to think that the finishing order would not be all that much different. Consider that the sum total for caution flags …

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